Through tears, the woman told police Gray sent an ominous text to his mother before four people were killed at Apalachee High School — which announced Friday it would remain closed until Sept. 23.
“Hey, um, my mom just texted me and said that my nephew texted his mom and dad this morning and told them that he was really sorry and he goes to the high school, Apalachee,” Gray’s aunt told police, who only gave the name Annie, according to dispatch reports obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Colt Gray sent his mother a text reading, “I’m sorry” before allegedly gunning down four people. AP
Annie’s call was timestamped at 11:46 a.m. on Sept. 4, nearly an hour and a half after Gray allegedly used an AR-15 rifle his father gave him for Christmas to slaughter two students and two teachers.
By the time the woman called, the teenager was already in police custody, but his identity was still under wraps.
“My mom just called me and said that Colt texted his mom, my sister, and his dad that he was sorry, and they called the school and told the counselor to go get him immediately, and then she said she saw that there had been a shooting and I’m just worried it was him,” Annie said in the call.
Annie desperately asked the dispatcher to get in contact with her sister, who she identified as Marcee, before giving her sister’s phone number.
The dispatcher then promised to have someone get in contact with her.
After getting Colt’s text, Marcee rushed into her car and tried to warn school administrators about the haunting behavior — but school staff wrongly removed the backpack of another kid with a similar name who also was out of the room shortly before gunfire erupted.
Gray’s aunt, Annie, told police she was “worried” her nephew was responsible for the bloodshed. Fox 5 Atlanta Students Christian Angulo, left, and Mason Schermerhorn, and teachers Cristina Irimie and Richard Aspinwall, were killed in the shooting. AP
Four people were killed in the shooting , students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14, math teacher Cristina Irimie, 53, and assistant football coach Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall, 39. Nine others were injured.
Apalachee High School announced Friday it is planning a “phased return to school” for the week of Sept. 23 — more than two weeks after the tragedy.
The school will provide on-campus mental health support and space for relocated classes as students return to the classroom, Principal Jessica Rehberg said in a message to the community.
About 1,900 students attend Apalachee High School.
“I know that you, like me, are experiencing a range of emotions and trying to make sense of the tragedy that struck our community,” Rehberg wrote. “While we may never have the perfect words or answers to satisfy the questions and challenges that face us, I believe we are better together.”
All other schools in Barrow County reopened on Tuesday, after closing for three days following the shooting.
Gray, who reportedly told authorities “I did it” immediately after the event, was charged as an adult with four counts of murder.
Gray is being charged as an adult and faces four counts of murder. via REUTERS
His father, Colin Gray, was also arrested for giving a weapon to his troubled son. He was charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children.
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